I was disappointed to have read the April 29 letter to the editor written by Mary Ellen Pawlowicz — disappointed in the fact that Ben Holland would allow someone in his campaign to take the race for Butler County controller and turn it negative. Let me make this clear: I belong to the same service organization that both Karen Diehl and Ben Holland belong to, and I consider both of them to be friends. Pawlowicz states in her letter that Butler County Commissioner Dale Pinkerton did this and did that. Yes, he did. However, Pinkerton and his wife did nothing more for Diehl than they would have done for any one of their friends who had asked them for their help. Pawlowicz apparently has forgotten that we live in a free society — free to choose our own religion, free to choose where we live, free to vote, and free to help any political candidate we choose. But apparently that only is the case if we support the same candidate whom she does. My wife and I have been invited into the Pinkertons’ home on many occasions. On many of those occasions, Diehl and her husband have been there. However, so has Ben Holland been there. How do you accept someone’s hospitality and friendship and then have someone on your campaign staff stab them in the back? Shame on Ben Holland. Why can’t we go through an election and make our decision based on someone’s qualifications for an office instead of starting this finger-pointing and making accusations?